Running Repairs — Last night I cobbled together a repair of my broken hiking pole. Hopefully it’ll last the ten-plus mile hike and various creek crossings on my way back to the trailhead. So far, so good.
View from the Scenic Overlook — looking northwest. Clear skies and a higher sun made it a lot easier to see the lie of the land.
March 28, 2024 12:36
View from the Scenic Overlook — looking southwest. Look carefully and you can see the two roads I still have to cross. But first I have to get down off this ridge and cross the creek.
March 28, 2024 12:35
View from the Scenic Overlook — clear skies and a higher sun made it a lot easier to see the lie of the land.
March 28, 2024 12:34
So that’s what happened to the “No Motor Vehicles On This Trail” sign. +1
March 28, 2024 11:44
My new Hammock Gear Circadian Hammock — My first impressions are that it is wider, and the structural ridgeline is slightly shorter than my Chameleon’s. That appears to result in my being able to lie flatter, and I’m not bashing my head on stuff hanging on the ridgeline when I get in and out of the hammock.
March 28, 2024 10:26
Camped below the shut-ins.
March 28, 2024 7:36
Day Two. It got a little frosty — The temperature last night was a lot lower than forecast, not that I was surprised — it’s not my first rodeo. At least this time I came prepared with my 10° under quilt. +1
March 28, 2024 7:34
Oops! What was that about bad decisions making good stories? I took a risky route to the campsite, misjudged my footing, nearly fell in the creek and broke a hiking pole. I may not be getting too old for backpacking, but I may be getting a bit old to try falling head-first into a deep pool in a 45°F creek while wearing a backpack.
March 27, 2024 16:41
Reflections in the pool below the shut-ins.
March 27, 2024 16:18
Looking downstream.
March 27, 2024 16:17
Pool below the shut-ins.
March 27, 2024 16:15
Shut-ins on an unnamed creek — Paddy Creek Wilderness. This is the upstream side of the shut-ins I discovered on my last visit to the wilderness — for some idea of the scale, it’s around 75ft wide here. The boulders are big!
March 27, 2024 16:08
Stopped for lunch by Little Paddy Creek.
March 27, 2024 15:05
Little Paddy Creek — I stopped for lunch and to top up my water.
March 27, 2024 15:03
Abandoned Homestead Ruins, Paddy Creek Wilderness — Taking advantage of some cell phone reception I sent Ginger this picture taken by the old chimney breast at the junction of the South Loop and the shortcut to the North Loop.
March 27, 2024 13:36
Well and stock pond — This is good, I was last here in December and the well was dry. And when I got to the short cut junction (it links to the North Loop) the well there was full too. +1
March 27, 2024 13:14
Checked in and ready to go — I got away without any major delays, and here I am at eleven-thirty all ready to hit the trail.
March 27, 2024 11:25
I might regret saying this… Hopefully this is not too prophetic. Today I’m leaving for three days hiking on the Big Piney Trail at Paddy Creek Wilderness. I’ve not been out this month, which means I have 20 miles and 2 nights backpacking to fit in. One-minute read, +2
March 27, 2024 8:08
Finally seeing results — I’ve been regularly exercising for around and hour a day, five days a week for three months now. I read that it takes a lot longer to get results when you get to a ‘certain age,’ and so it has. This week, for the first time the body fat percentage has dropped into the green.
March 7, 2024 8:10
The perils (and perks) of a home office. Dick is ‘helping’ me edit videos.
March 1, 2024 11:16
Journal: Four days R&R in Piney Creek Wilderness, February 2024 — It’s been almost a month since I was last out on the trail on my trip to Irish Wilderness. I toyed briefly with a four-day hike of the Berryman Trail, but I settled on some downtime by the lake instead. Journal: 5 15
February 28, 2024 18:00
Heading Home — I remembered to take an end of hike selfie just before I left the trailhead parking lot. Two-minute read.
February 28, 2024 16:25
All packed up and ready to leave — I toyed with the idea of leaving first thing in the morning, but a bitingly cold wind put me off that idea. It was very windy in the night, the trees flexing had the hammock bouncing around a bit. The temperature dropped to 24 degrees, I wasn’t toasty, but I was warm enough. Two-minute read, +1